BIRRIA QUESATACOS RECIPES

Steps:

• Prepare & Soak the Dried Chiles. With a pair of kitchen scissors, snip the chiles in half and remove the seeds. Then snip off the stem. Repeat with all the remaining chiles you've selected. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and then take it off the heat, add the chiles to the pan and soak the dried peppers for about 5 minutes.
• Prepare the meat. While you wait for the peppers to soak, trim up any excess fat and add the chicken to a 6-Qt Stockpot or Dutch Oven. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves and set the pan aside.
• Make the Adobo Sauce. Into a blender, add all the adobo ingredients plus the softened chilis with liquid. Do not worry about any residual seeds. Blend until smooth, about 40 seconds. Intermittent pulsing helps blend the ingredients up smoothly. Straining this step with a fine-mesh sieve (strainer) is optional. For a true consomé, strain. If you do not mind a thicker sauce, add the adobo to the chicken as is. I left mine as is. I have a Ninja Blender, so the sauce was very smooth like tomato sauce.
• Simmer. After you've added the adobo sauce to the chicken, set it over medium heat and bring it to a low boil. It will just begin to bubble and splatter along the outside edge. Cover and reduce to a simmer over low heat. Simmer for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the internal temperature reaches 165° F.
• Cool & Shred. Once the meat is cooked through, remove it from the heat and set aside. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and allow it to cool. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it with your hands, or two forks. Remove any excess fat and discard. At this point, you can return the meat to the pan and toss to coat or add the meat to the bottom of a bowl and add sauce. Top with optional garnishes and serve with warm corn tortilla shells.
• Prepare Birria Tacos. Bringing the meal one step further, make the birria de pollo (Chicken Birria stew) into a taco by first warming a corn tortilla on both sides in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. This will give the tortilla some structure to hold the sauce without tearing. Next, dip the tortilla in the consomé and place it back into the hot pan. Allow it to cook for about 30 seconds to one minute before flipping to the second side. On one-half, fill the shell with meat, fresh onions, cilantro, pico de gallo con nopalitos, and diced jalapenos or your other favorite toppings. Fold the empty half of the shell over the filled side. Flip the shell and cook the other half for a few seconds before transferring to a serving plate. If preparing many at a time, place on a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in a 175 °F oven until ready to serve.
• Prepare Birria Quesatacos. Prepare the same as above in step 6, except add a thick layer of cheese to half of the shell before adding the other ingredients.

Steps:

• In a six or eight quart Instant Pot, add the beef, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup water. 
• Seal the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 50 minutes. 
• While the beef cooks, toast the chiles and the garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes, turning the chilis regularly. 
• Transfer the chilies and garlic to a bowl and let cool, Break them up into small pieces, shake out any extra seeds, and add everything to a blender. Add the boiling water, toasted garlic, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, allspice, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Blend until fully pureed, about a minutes. Refrigerate. 
• When the meat is done cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes and then vent and press Cancel. 
• Transfer the meat to a large bowl. Skim off as much of the fat as possible out of the remaining liquid and save for later in a small bowl (do not discard). Using the Sauté function, cook the remaining liquid for 25 to 30 minutes, until reduced to 1/2 cup. 
• In the meantime, shred the beef with two forks. 
• Reserve 1/4 cup of the chili mixture and stir the rest into the Instant Pot, along with the shredded beef. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. 
• Press cancel. Stir in the lime juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the mixture to a bowl. 
• Heat the 1/4 cup of reserved chili and garlic mixture with the 1 cup of beef broth. 
• Heat the reserved beef fat in a large skillet over medium high heat. 
• Add corn tortillas and brush the tortillas with the consomé. 
• Sprinkle the tortillas with a handful of the cheese and some of the meat. Fry on one side, fold over, and flip to cook on all sides. 
• Remove the cooked tacos to a plate and continue to assemble more tacos. 
• Serve on a plate with a small bowl of the consomé for dipping.